Disclaimer: I am not an attorney.
However, it seems patently clear that since the text of medieval manuscripts cannot have been in copyright for some centuries at a minimum, *diplomatic* editions directly from manuscripts must be free of any legal encumbrances.
Not the original poster's question, but something to think about. In a digital environment where we could work with and automatically compare any number of digital diplomatic editions, legal questions add yet one more reason to rethink the often unexamined assumption that critical editions are desirable.
> On Oct 21, 2016, at 10:51 AM, Michelson, David Allen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> Without inviting a deluge of personal opinions or advocacy, I am wondering if anyone could inform me of the current state of legal decisions regarding copyright of critical editions of ancient texts. In other words, I am just curious about the current legal status of such copyright (in any legal context, US, UK, EU, etc).
>
> I read recently of this decision in France which may be relevant (http://apocryphes.hypotheses.org/389) and was wondering if perhaps there were any recent publications in the field of DH, law, or cultural heritage preservation that tried to summarize the current legal landscape. Some what discouragingly, the top English language google search for this topic (https://www.google.com/search?q=Copyright+Status+of+Edited+Ancient+Texts&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) returns a page from 1995, so this is an issue that has been a developing question for a while.
>
> p.s. apologies for cross-posting to Digital Medievalist members, but it seems that list may also have some input.
>
> Best,
>
> David A. Michelson
>
> Assistant Professor of the History of Christianity
> Vanderbilt University
> www.syriaca.org
>
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